A determined police dog scored a remarkable midnight double after chasing down one suspect and tracking down another.
Police Dog Seth and his handler were on routine patrol in Carlton in Lindrick on Tuesday, 2 December, when reports came in of a stolen car travelling on false plates.
The vehicle had failed to stop late on Monday night and was being pursued by the crew of an Armed Response Vehicle (ARV) when it was abandoned in Langold Country Park.
Multiple suspects fled into the darkness as Seth was released in pursuit.
The sprightly Belgian Malinois soon made up the ground on one suspect and detained him around 100 metres from the car.
As soon as the suspect was securely in the custody of other officers, Seth was redeployed on his tracking line to carry on the search.
After leading his handler through the darkness, over a stream, and through dense woodland, the dog doubled back towards the car and found another suspect underneath a fallen tree trunk.
An 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy were arrested at the scene.
The former is currently on police bail, and the latter has since been charged with dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving without a licence, and driving without insurance.
PD Seth has established a reputation as a formidable general-purpose dog since he was recruited in December 2023.
Since then, he has chalked up an impressive list of collars, including:
• Sniffing out a suspect in a wheelie bin in November
• Chasing down and detaining a suspected motorcycle thief in September this year
• Tracking and detaining two suspects hiding in undergrowth after a car failed to stop in June
• Detaining a suspected motorbike thief hiding in a garden in May
• Tracking for more than 20 minutes and sniffing out three suspected burglars in February
• Chasing down and detaining a suspect after a high-speed pursuit in October 2024
• Detaining two suspects hiding in a tunnel after another high-speed pursuit in March 2024
Sergeant Nicholas Dachtler said:
“General-purpose dogs like Seth are trained to carry out multiple tasks – two of these skills are to chase fleeing suspects and to track people that have already fled.
“Seth excels in both of these areas, and we are lucky to have him as part of the team.
“He and his handler have developed a formidable partnership.”
